Right now, I'm labeling all of my parts bins. I've discovered I can get components cheaply and easily off of eBay, and have been very lucky not to get any factory rejects (Hey...this resistor is shaped like a cone.) or anything blatantly Chinese-generic.
So here is my dilemma: I have a bunch of those cool little cases (mine are from Harbor Freight and NOT the standard HF questionable quality; they are actually the nicest ones I've found) and want to fill them with the absolute most common components, neatly labeled and all. I'm starting with diodes. Obviously, 1N400X, one compartment for each, BUT...I have two compartments remaining.
What are the absolute most commonly used (non-light emitting) diodes in DIY audio? Including power supplies, of course.
I want to make this a general reference thread, so I must ask,
What are the absolute most common components used? What diodes, resistor values, voltage regulators, capacitor types/sizes, transistors, fuses, etc do all of you EEs and amateur EEs and evey one else stock up on and keep next to your pillows at night?
I know I can dive into diagrams and look, and make determinations, but I'm still too new to this. I want professional opinions, and want to make a thread that anyone organizing their stuff or anyone new that needs to figure out what parts to get can refer to.
If this has been done before, I apologize. My 14" CRT is frying my eyes, even though it is really taking me back through memory lane. =D
So here is my dilemma: I have a bunch of those cool little cases (mine are from Harbor Freight and NOT the standard HF questionable quality; they are actually the nicest ones I've found) and want to fill them with the absolute most common components, neatly labeled and all. I'm starting with diodes. Obviously, 1N400X, one compartment for each, BUT...I have two compartments remaining.
What are the absolute most commonly used (non-light emitting) diodes in DIY audio? Including power supplies, of course.
I want to make this a general reference thread, so I must ask,
What are the absolute most common components used? What diodes, resistor values, voltage regulators, capacitor types/sizes, transistors, fuses, etc do all of you EEs and amateur EEs and evey one else stock up on and keep next to your pillows at night?
I know I can dive into diagrams and look, and make determinations, but I'm still too new to this. I want professional opinions, and want to make a thread that anyone organizing their stuff or anyone new that needs to figure out what parts to get can refer to.
If this has been done before, I apologize. My 14" CRT is frying my eyes, even though it is really taking me back through memory lane. =D
What a coincidence! I was thinking of making a thread about the most common loudspeaker crossover capacitor values.
May I suggest that you make separate threads for different component types?
May I suggest that you make separate threads for different component types?
here's a few parts I stock up on in my shop:
resistor values: 100R, 1K, 10K, 22K, 47K, 100K and a few of those values in between for those rare instances.
capacitor: 100nF in monolithic ceramics and film. these get used a lot in audio/non audio circuits 😉
diodes: 1N400X series for small supplies, 1N540X series for slightly larger supplies and some schottky and ultrafast for those rare cases when dealing with SMPS's.
transistors: 2N3904, 2N3906, 2N4401, 2N4403 for small currents, BD139, BD140 for slightly larger currents. IRFZ44 and IRF3205 mosfets (I repair car amps so these get used a lot 🙂 )
ICs: general purpose op amps/comparators for experimenting like LM741, LM358, LM311, LM393, LM339, TL072 for playing with audio circuits which I then replace with better ones like BB and AD when the design is good enough.
resistor values: 100R, 1K, 10K, 22K, 47K, 100K and a few of those values in between for those rare instances.
capacitor: 100nF in monolithic ceramics and film. these get used a lot in audio/non audio circuits 😉
diodes: 1N400X series for small supplies, 1N540X series for slightly larger supplies and some schottky and ultrafast for those rare cases when dealing with SMPS's.
transistors: 2N3904, 2N3906, 2N4401, 2N4403 for small currents, BD139, BD140 for slightly larger currents. IRFZ44 and IRF3205 mosfets (I repair car amps so these get used a lot 🙂 )
ICs: general purpose op amps/comparators for experimenting like LM741, LM358, LM311, LM393, LM339, TL072 for playing with audio circuits which I then replace with better ones like BB and AD when the design is good enough.
My thoughts are running in a similar vein again; i.e. stocking components...
Precision Resistors in my case. This guy sells a bunch! ...with good feedback...
Anyone familiar with this Ebay seller or the products... Has better range than I can seem to dig up with the hard to use interface of digikey and the like... but I want to be sure I'm getting top-quality before using this source to stock. He has a wide range of values in assortment kits even with 1, 2 and 3 watt dissipations...
Here's the link:
items - Get great deals on 1 4W metal film resistors items on eBay Stores!
Precision Resistors in my case. This guy sells a bunch! ...with good feedback...
Anyone familiar with this Ebay seller or the products... Has better range than I can seem to dig up with the hard to use interface of digikey and the like... but I want to be sure I'm getting top-quality before using this source to stock. He has a wide range of values in assortment kits even with 1, 2 and 3 watt dissipations...
Here's the link:
items - Get great deals on 1 4W metal film resistors items on eBay Stores!
Westerly Sunn - I have bought from him, and I bought 1/4 watt precision resistors, 100x 4.7k ohms.
They look good, physically larger than the ones I bought from someone else, shaped better. Might be name-brand. I'll meter them tonight at work, get some data and average it out to see if they really are "precision" resistors or factory rejects.
On that--are there different degrees, or grades, of factory rejects?
djQUAN - Good start, thanks. From your read, I think I'm on the right track, and I hope it helps start other new people who catch this thread onto the same path.
Shaun - It would be nice, but I think the mods would be a bit iffy. I think this is a situation where the wiki would be handy, would make a good article. I was hoping the wiki would be used for more than just group buys. It has huge potential to be an awesome sort of encyclopedia of fact and opinion on parts: what they do, where to get them, what's good, what's not, etc., in a much more organized fashion than any forum allows.
They look good, physically larger than the ones I bought from someone else, shaped better. Might be name-brand. I'll meter them tonight at work, get some data and average it out to see if they really are "precision" resistors or factory rejects.
On that--are there different degrees, or grades, of factory rejects?
djQUAN - Good start, thanks. From your read, I think I'm on the right track, and I hope it helps start other new people who catch this thread onto the same path.
Shaun - It would be nice, but I think the mods would be a bit iffy. I think this is a situation where the wiki would be handy, would make a good article. I was hoping the wiki would be used for more than just group buys. It has huge potential to be an awesome sort of encyclopedia of fact and opinion on parts: what they do, where to get them, what's good, what's not, etc., in a much more organized fashion than any forum allows.
Thanks llamaboy. As far as values, I've stocked values specific to the circuits of my main interests (tube guitar amplification) but the overall strategy I'm aiming at to simplify matters and provide (quick-and-nimble-versatility 😉) is to stock fairly low counts of whole ranges and then later to re-stock depletions in higher counts. That works good for resistors, other component values are gonna be a little more circuit type specific... I think...
I use 1N4148, 1N4149 diodes for protection on inputs. 49.9 and 1K ohm metal film resistors. 220uF Elna Silk electrolytics. LM317, LM337 regulators, AD825, LM4562 and OPA2134 opamps. Good to have an assortment of 2W resistors for power supply use.
1N4007 for 1-amp and under supplies. These are rated at 1000V, overkill for even many tube supplies, but there's so little difference in price between it and the lower voltage ratings (1N4004, 4005,...), that it's only worth buying the others for a specific application in high-volume production.
And for any supplies anywhere near an audio device, 0.1uF caps to put directly across those rectifiers to prevent oscillation/RF hash that can get into the audio.
I was thinking 7815 and 7915 for op-amp and general regulated power supplies, but jackinnj mentioned the LM317 and LM337 adjustables. These are more versatile, not just in making any voltage output, but they can also be used as constant current sources.
And for any supplies anywhere near an audio device, 0.1uF caps to put directly across those rectifiers to prevent oscillation/RF hash that can get into the audio.
I was thinking 7815 and 7915 for op-amp and general regulated power supplies, but jackinnj mentioned the LM317 and LM337 adjustables. These are more versatile, not just in making any voltage output, but they can also be used as constant current sources.
@Westerly Sunn: I did find that I ordered all of those resistors from this guy:
Sky Electronic Mart items - Get great deals on 1 4W Fixed Resistors, 16V items on eBay Stores!
I looked at all of the resistors, none were deformed. I did a test on a random sample of them, and they all checked within tolerances. If you need a hundred of a specific value, I'd say it's $2.19 well spent.
He ships from Macau, China. It says 22-28 days with standard (free) shipping, but I got them in a week. I thought Macau was a place in Brazil, which it is, but this Macau is a city in China with a Portuguese background.
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I got a ton of Mylars from this guy:
Thai Shine items - Get great deals on 1 4W 5, Ceramic Disc Capacitors items on eBay Stores!
50 .12 uF and 50 .33 uF, $3 per set. He actually sent me more than 50 of each, and they all checked out fine.
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I get diodes from here:
tekno networks items - Get great deals on RF Component, Bipolar NPN items on eBay Stores!
They've all been good so far. Allowed me to finish repairing my Sega Genesis and my alarm clock radio I got for Christmas when I was ten years old.
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I got this guy's transistor and diode assortment:
transistor items - Get great deals on electronic component items on eBay Stores!
Could probably get it all in total cheaper than $10, but I'm not THAT broke. Nothing deformed here, nothing used. Good stuff, some in anti-static bags.
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May I also suggest Electronics Goldmine for odds and ends, and Alltronics for assortments? The Alltronics assortments you have to be very, VERY careful with: the capacitors by the pound came with a HUGE unmarked electrolytic and a few more larges, and not too much in the way of anything else. I did get some glass capacitors, and one square glass one that goes for a ton of money if bought on it's own. The Resistor Riot is chancy, I have a shoebox of strange values, but I got more than my money's worth with factory boxes of Brazilian 1k carbon films and lots of older Dale precision resistors still in packaging. It's a good deal, just be prepared to get a lot of stuff you may not use, and a LOT of sorting.
Wew.
@benb and jackinnj - Next paycheck I'm going to start hunting down a good bulk regulator assortment. Glad I got all of those mylars to stick in front of the regulators.
Anyone know anything about glass capacitors in audio? I got a couple of those. Also, "interference filters" with long, flexeble leads and mounting hardware, not to mention a large number of GE aluminum capacitors, bi-polar and not, and some that might be oil, especially the couple with gold leads.
I gots some crazy stuff in the mail!
Sky Electronic Mart items - Get great deals on 1 4W Fixed Resistors, 16V items on eBay Stores!
I looked at all of the resistors, none were deformed. I did a test on a random sample of them, and they all checked within tolerances. If you need a hundred of a specific value, I'd say it's $2.19 well spent.
He ships from Macau, China. It says 22-28 days with standard (free) shipping, but I got them in a week. I thought Macau was a place in Brazil, which it is, but this Macau is a city in China with a Portuguese background.
-----------------
I got a ton of Mylars from this guy:
Thai Shine items - Get great deals on 1 4W 5, Ceramic Disc Capacitors items on eBay Stores!
50 .12 uF and 50 .33 uF, $3 per set. He actually sent me more than 50 of each, and they all checked out fine.
-----------------
I get diodes from here:
tekno networks items - Get great deals on RF Component, Bipolar NPN items on eBay Stores!
They've all been good so far. Allowed me to finish repairing my Sega Genesis and my alarm clock radio I got for Christmas when I was ten years old.
-----------------
I got this guy's transistor and diode assortment:
transistor items - Get great deals on electronic component items on eBay Stores!
Could probably get it all in total cheaper than $10, but I'm not THAT broke. Nothing deformed here, nothing used. Good stuff, some in anti-static bags.
____________________
May I also suggest Electronics Goldmine for odds and ends, and Alltronics for assortments? The Alltronics assortments you have to be very, VERY careful with: the capacitors by the pound came with a HUGE unmarked electrolytic and a few more larges, and not too much in the way of anything else. I did get some glass capacitors, and one square glass one that goes for a ton of money if bought on it's own. The Resistor Riot is chancy, I have a shoebox of strange values, but I got more than my money's worth with factory boxes of Brazilian 1k carbon films and lots of older Dale precision resistors still in packaging. It's a good deal, just be prepared to get a lot of stuff you may not use, and a LOT of sorting.
Wew.
@benb and jackinnj - Next paycheck I'm going to start hunting down a good bulk regulator assortment. Glad I got all of those mylars to stick in front of the regulators.
Anyone know anything about glass capacitors in audio? I got a couple of those. Also, "interference filters" with long, flexeble leads and mounting hardware, not to mention a large number of GE aluminum capacitors, bi-polar and not, and some that might be oil, especially the couple with gold leads.
I gots some crazy stuff in the mail!
Thanks for the additional sources, llamaboy... I'll be checking those out, and will prolly lead to other leads... the net being what it is, huh? 🙂
@Westerly Sunn: Yea, but I will tell you this: if you know what you need, I just kinda found out it's cheaper to just go to Mouser/Digikey and get what you need. With my newest project (COMPLETE component swap on a Technical Pro 2-transistor power amp), I'll be queing everything up on Mouser and grabbing higher quality parts. After going through this way, I'd really suggest going to one of the major distributors, buying quantities of common values/components (they priced according to quantity as well as what they are), all at once, and bite the shipping cost. You'll get higher quality stuff and there is zero risk of getting counterfiet. This way, I know my amp is getting good components.
I've been learning a lot on these slow 12-hour shift weekend nights.
I've been learning a lot on these slow 12-hour shift weekend nights.
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